Opening and locking means for loose leaf ring structures



May 10, 1932. DE 1,857,287

OPENING AND LOCKTNG MEANS FOR LOOSE LEAF RING STRUCTURES Filed May 5,1931 2 Sheets-Sh et 1 EEiE Jofiiz 30% ade May 10, 1932. J, sc E1,857,287

OPENING AND LOCKING MEANS FOR LOOSE LEAF RING STRUCTURES Filed May 5,1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fa/12? Scfiade Bya Patented May 10, 1932 rrsoSTATES PATENT, orifice JOHN scHAnn, or HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS, .Assmnonrro NATIONAL BLANK 300x 7 COMPANY, or 'HOLYOKE, MASSACHUSETTS, AGORP-OBATION' or M ssAcnUsE'r'rs OPENING AND LOCKING MEANS FOR LOOSE,RING STRUCTURES Application filed May 5,

far

are opened to remove or insert sheets, the

loose leaves are very apt to become accidental:

ly detached from, the rings, and it is the ob ject of the presentinvention to prevent the opening of the rings either by a booster or bypulling them apart unless the rockable structure is in a verticalposition with the joints of the rings at the top of said structure, sothat said joints will be remote from the 29 sheets.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a broken top view of thebinder with rings closed and equipped with a booster in position foropening the rings and locking 5 the structure- Figure 2 is a section atthe line 22 of Figure 1 Figure 3 is an end view of the constructionshown at Figure 1 Figure 4 is a section similar to Figure 2 but with therings opened and structure locked- Figure 5 is a view like Figure 3 butwith the rings opened and structure locked- Figure 6 is a cross sectionof the binder in tilted position, with loose leaves on the rings and thelatter closed Figure 7 is a broken top view of the binder with the ringsclosed and equipped for operation without a booster- Figure 8 is an endView of the construction shown at Figure 7- Figure 9 is a view similarto Figure 8 but with the rings opened, and c Figure 10 is a view similarto Figure Swith the rockable structure tilted to one side.

Similar numerals of reference denote like parts in the several figuresof the drawings.

Referring to Figures 1 to 6 inclusive, the binder is shown equipped witha booster for opening the rings A, this booster being de- 1931. SerialNo. 535,125;

noted by the numeral l with its inner end extendingthrough an opening .2in the cover plate 3 of the binder, the sides 4 of this, end beneathsaid plate being fulcrumed against theouter edges of thering or prongcarrying leaves 5 that are resiliently confined in the usual manner byinturned flanges a at the sides of said plate, while thetipe 6 of saidend extends through openings 7 in theinner edges of said leaves and isclinched beneath :theilatter. 7 a

This booster as above described is precisely the same as that shown anddescribediinmy pending application, Serial N 0. 535,126, filed on evendate herewith, so far as its tulcrums and lifting connection with theleaves are concerned, but it extends above the plate 3 and its rear end8 is close to the end plate 9 of the binder, so that it-is i'mpossibletopull the rings apart when the structure is tilted 1 to one side. I

The end plate 9 has within its npp'crrniddle portion a gate 10; and whenthe binder has been swung to a vertical position the end 8 of thebooster is immediately above said gate, so that, when the booster isdepressed itw'ill open theringsor prongs and this end 8 will be housedwithin said gate, thus looking the binder structure in verticalposition,

so that there will be no likelihood of the leaves accidentally comingoff the prongs.

No detail description has been given of the rockable structure or of thetulcruming of the booster and its lifting attachment -to the prongcarrying 1eaves, since such description is deemed unnecessary in view ofthe pending applicationsabove referred to, and, referring to Figure fi,it is merely necessary to call attention to the fact that the rockablestructure comprises the cover plate 3, integral side portions 11 thatmeet at an angle at their lowor ends where they are pivoted at the back12 of the binder to a series ofstraps 13 by means of a rod 14, saidstraps extending in loop form through openings 15 in the bottom angua,

lar parts of said sides and secured beneath said back-plate. While onlyone assembly of said straps is shown, it'will be readily underp out thelength of the rockable structure. Also, although these side portions 11are inturned at their upper edges as shown at Z2 and confined within theinturned edges a of the cover plate, while the outer edges of the prongcarrying leaves are housed within these edges 6, nevertheless theresilient action of the leaves is due to their confinement by the coverplate. However, this is not only a very common feature in ring binders,but it is not at all a matter that is germane to the present invention.But in this Figure 6 loose leaves 16 are shown on the ring A, the prongscomprising the ring being closed,and a majority of.

the leaves are shown on the downwardly tilted part of the ring, in orderto emphasize the fact that leaves would be very apt toaccidentally'b-ecome detached from the ring when its prongsareopenedeither by pullingthem apart or by the depression of a booster,unless the present invention made it impossible to open the prongsexcept when the binder structure was in a verticalposition and to thenlock the structure in this position.

In Figures 7 to 10 inclusive, I have shown a modification of theinvention in which a booster is dispensed with and which will now bedescribed.

. An end plate 17 hascut thereth'rough lateral arcuate slots 18 thatmerge at the top into an upwardly extending recess 19 and reducedportions 20 at an end of the leaves 5 extend through one or the other ofthese slots when the bind-er structure is tilted to one side or theother, as shown at Figure10, and the width of the slots is such thatthese portions 20 would strike the upper walls of the slots if anattemptwere made to. pull the prongs apart, and thus would prevent theopening of the prongs. I

But if the binder structure were swung to a vertical position, as shownat F igure. 8, then the prongs could be pulled apart and would be housedwithin the recess 19, as shown at Figure 9, and the structure would bethereby locked in this closed. I

It will certainly be clear that, in order to successfully operate thestructure shown in my application, Serial No. 509,336, aforesaid, it isnecessary to swing the structure to a vertical position before openingthe prongs, especially when removing .or' changing the last sheets, andthat, since the tendency of the structure is to tilt, great care must betaken to prevent this, since, if such tilting should suddenly occur, alot of sheets would spill from the prongs, and thereby render itnecessary to rearrange and replace them.

Defects of this sort are rendered impossible by my present invention,and the binder is more readily manipulated and the loose sheets morequickly and accurately handled.

What is claimed is 1. A loose leaf book having a sheet-holding positionuntil the prongs were structure rockably mounted thereon and means forpreventing the opening of said structure in any position other than anupright one.

2. A loose leaf book having a sheet-holding structure rockably mountedthereon, means for preventing the opening of said structure except in anupright position, and means for holding said structure in an uprightposition until it has been again closed.

3. A loose leaf book of thering type comprising a structure rockablymounted thereon, an opening lever for the rings and means for preventingthe operation of said lever except when the sheet holding structure isin an upright position.

' 4. A construction as in claim 3 with the addition that the operationof the, lever to open the rings automatically locks the latter in openedcondition. 7

5. A loose leaf book of the ring type, comprising a structure rockablymounted on the back of the book, and means for simultaneously openingthe rings and locking the structure with the rings open only when saidstructure is in an upright position.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature hereto.

- JOHN SCHADE.

